Let's not talk of this again
by elbcw
Summary: One shot. Porthos and Aramis on a simple mission. But when was anything simple? My first fan fiction. I hope you enjoy it.


Authors note: This is my first ever fan fiction in any genre. Please be gentle with me. Constructive criticism welcome.

I do not own them, I am only borrowing. I will put them back pretty much as they were.

Let's not talk of this again

'Porthos,' sighed Aramis, 'we have barely travelled a mile, we could turn back and get a different horse.'

'There was not much to choose was there, it was this old nag or a pregnant mare.'

Porthos grumbled as the unfamiliar horse continued to ignore his commands. The two musketeers had completed the first part of their mission to deliver a missive to a local nobleman from the King but the return journey had been blighted when Porthos' horse threw a shoe and became lame. They had stopped at a village and stabled the horse and managed to borrow another from a local farmer. Unfortunately, there was only an elderly bay that could be spared for the musketeer. It had never been broken in properly for riding and had been skittish and uncooperative since leaving the village.

The forest path they now travelled along was dappled in sunlight, the leafy trees almost touching them as the horses moved at a leisurely walk for Porthos' benefit. To the right a gully had opened up and Porthos was careful to keep his skittish horse away from its edge.

Aramis brought his horse to a stop and stared intently forward. Porthos reined in beside him and followed his gaze, although he could not make out clearly what the keen-eyed marksman had seen.

'Looks like a body, up ahead, leaning against that tree…' said Aramis.

'I'll take your word for it,' replied Porthos as they encouraged the horses into a trot.

As they got closer Porthos could make out a man lying apparently unconscious on the ground, he did not seem to be injured but was very still. As Aramis dismounted and walked up to the prone figure Porthos continued to approach on his horse not wishing to go through the rig moral of dismounting the disagreeable animal until it was necessary.

As Aramis reached the man he crouched down to touch the man's shoulder. Something caught Porthos' eye, a glint of silver; a dagger. Before he could call out the seemingly unconscious man sliced the dagger upwards and caught Aramis on the arm before he could react. The movement caused Aramis to fall backwards giving the man the upper hand. Aramis tried to get up and grabbed for his sword but the injury to his arm slowed him just enough for his attacker to again slice with the dagger, this time across Aramis' leg. This was quickly followed by a punch to the left side of Aramis face leaving him stunned.

In the few seconds, it took for the man to attack and incapacitate Aramis, Porthos was having his own battle. The unfamiliar horse had been startled by the sudden movement and became even more unpredictable. Porthos tried to calm the beast so that he could dismount and go to his friend's aid but the scared animal began to rear up and would not be controlled. In one movement, it reared up, then stumbled on the uneven ground at the side of the forest path. Porthos could feel himself being thrown from the animals back but there was nothing he could do about it.

A moment of weightlessness and then he found himself hitting the ground hard. But the ground then seemed to fall away from him, too late he realised he had landed on the edge of the gully and despite trying to grab at tree branches and roots found himself tumbling to the bottom. The last thing he saw was a large fallen tree which he hit hard.

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The man paused as Porthos fell. He grinned as his attention was drawn back to Aramis who was still trying to get his coordination back after the blow to the head had left him reeling and confused for a few seconds. The attacker pushed Aramis back down as he tried to get up, grabbed at the money bag tucked into his doublet and with a final triumphant grin ran into the forest.

It took a few minutes for Aramis to fully regain his senses. The world around him spun uncontrolled until gradually righting itself.

As he tried to stand the dagger wound on his leg caused him to wince in pain. He pulled back the tattered fabric from the wound. It was a nasty injury, he doubted it could be stitched easily. He pulled his sash off and created a makeshift bandage, tied tightly in an attempt to stem the blood flow. He next assessed the cut to his arm. That was a clean straight cut and could be easily stitched, it could wait for now.

Slowly Aramis pulled himself to his feet, relying heavily on his good leg he hobbled to the edge of the gully.

He peered over the edge, 'Porthos', he called, hoping for a reply but not surprised when he did not get one. He had been aware of Porthos' struggle with the horse but had been in no state to assist. He leaned out as far as he dared and spotted his fellow musketeer lying prone at the bottom of the gully.

Aramis looked about him, they were too far from the village for him to walk in his current state and he knew he would not be able to mount his horse with the injury to his leg. They were on their own.

The gully was too steep for him to climb down from where he was, but there appeared to be something of a path further on which would work.

'I am coming Porthos' he called, more for his own benefit than his unconscious friends.

The two horses were stood close by, he hobbled over to them. His own, reliable mare stood fast as a wave of dizziness and nauseous swept over Aramis and he was forced to lean on her flank for support. Porthos' horse allowed itself to be led by Aramis as he made a slow and painful walk along the forest path to the turn off for the gully.

It took Aramis a while to persuade Porthos' horse to follow him into the gully, but eventually it did, occasionally stopping and throwing Aramis off balance.

When he was within striking distance of Porthos he took his medical bag from his saddlebag and limped over to his friend who was as still as when Aramis had first seen him from the top of the gully.

Aramis sat heavily by his friend's side and reached out to fell his head. A lump was forming on the back of his head where he must have hit the tree trunk. Other than the lump Porthos was relatively unscathed from his fall. A few cuts and bruises and a graze to the side of his face were all he had to show for his tumble. He would, however have a nasty headache thought Aramis. All he could do was wait for Porthos to regain consciousness.

In the meantime Aramis could tend to his own injuries. He looked again at the leg wound, peeling back his field bandage he found that the exertion of the walk down the gully had made it bleed quite badly. The edges of the wound were ragged, they could not be stitched. But the wound would have to be dealt with, and soon to prevent infection. It would have to be cauterised. Aramis was not sure if he could do that to himself, he would have to wait for Porthos to wake up. The chances of him passing out from the pain of the hot blade against his skin was too great.

He rewrapped the wound and turned his attention to the cut on his arm. Stitching it himself would be hard work, and painful, but it was nothing he had not done before. After cleaning the wound, he made quick work of the stitching. He was shaking and in a lot of pain when he had finished. He lay back for a moment in the hope of calming his hammering heart and for the pain to ebb away a little.

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Porthos was very confused. He was staring at the darkening sky and had no recollection of why he was leaning on a tree trunk with a thumping headache.

Gradually images came back to him of the attack; Aramis taken by surprise and receiving cuts from a dagger that the attacker had carefully concealed until he lashed out at the would be Samaritan; his way wood horse rearing up and throwing him off; the seemingly endless fall… and then, nothing.

He reached up and felt his head, a painful lump told him all he needed to know. Possible concussion, which meant he would be dizzy and probably nauseous for a while.

'Welcome back my friend, I was beginning to think you would not wake up.'

Porthos turned his head slowly and saw Aramis sat beside him prodding a small fire with his main gauche. The left side of Aramis' face was purple with bruising; his left sleeve was torn and Porthos could see a bandage wrapped around it.

'How long was I out? What happened to our attacker?' asked Porthos as he tried to sit up a bit.

'Slowly my friend, I need you to stay conscious for me for a bit. Our attacker stole my money and made off into the forest a few hours ago, I have been waiting patiently for you to wake…I have a favour to ask…'

Porthos followed Aramis' gaze and took in the make shift bandage around his leg. The sash was stained with blood.

'I need you to cauterise the wound. I do not think I can remain conscious long enough to do it myself. Are you sufficiently with us to do the honours?' asked Aramis as he turned the handle of the main gauche toward Porthos. 'It is not quite hot enough yet, but should be by the time I have cleaned the wound.'

Porthos slowly turned and looked at his friend, noting the pained expression and his obvious struggle to hide it. He reached over as Aramis was unwrapping the bandage and pushed his hands away to take over the ministrations. Aramis did not object and leant back against the tree gratefully.

'He did a good job with that dagger, this is nasty.' Porthos said, glancing at Aramis who had closed his eyes and was trying not to react to the bandage being removed.

Porthos took the water skin that was lying by the fire and cleaned the wound, wincing in sympathy when Aramis could no longer stifle a small cry of pain.

He reached for the small bottle of alcohol that lay by Aramis' side. It was almost full, Aramis had clearly been saving it for cleaning his wound.

'This will hurt,' he said as he poured the liquid over his friend's leg. Aramis cried out in pain and tried to curl in on himself only being prevented from doing so by Porthos arms pushing him back against the tree trunk.

Aramis was sweating and already on the verge of passing out from the pain. It occurred to Porthos just how difficult it must have been for him to stay conscious during his lonely vigil by his unconscious friend's side.

'Easy, it's done now.' Porthos tried to sooth his friend, knowing that even worse was to come. His own pounding headache almost forgotten with the concern for Aramis' wellbeing.

'Now, do you want me to knock you out for this? You already have a pretty good collection of bruises,' asked Porthos.

'I will try to be still, but I cannot guarantee it. I am probably already slightly concussed from earlier, it would be unwise for me to be hit again…if it can be helped,' Aramis managed to say through gritted teeth.

Porthos nodded and reached for the hot dagger resting in the fire. He put his other arm across Aramis' chest and held him firmly, he noted that Aramis' knuckles were already white from clenching his hands into the soft earth.

'Do it' Aramis said firmly.

Porthos took a breath then pressed the blade against his friend's skin, the smell of burning flesh evident immediately. Aramis screamed and bucked against Porthos' hold, but only for a few seconds then he stilled. Porthos nodded his approval, sometimes, passing out was a good thing.

He put the main gauche back into the flame to reheat, he had to reapply the hot metal twice more to ensure the wound was closed. Aramis did not stir. Once Porthos was satisfied he dressed the wound with a clean bandage from the medical bag. Then sat back to repay his friend with his own lonely vigil.

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When Aramis came to he realised it was dawn. The sun rising slowly bringing warmth and light to their little impromptu camp. He groaned as he moved his leg.

'Careful,' said Porthos as he walked over to Aramis and knelt beside him putting a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.

Aramis coughed and realised how dry his throat was. Reading the signs Porthos put the water skin in his hands. Aramis gratefully took a couple of mouthfuls of the refreshing liquid.

'How is your head?' he enquired eyeing Porthos carefully, 'and I would appreciate an honest reply, it won't do me any good if you keel over.'

Porthos smiled, 'My head is better than it was but I am not fully recovered, provided I move slowly I can managed. How about you, can I get an honest answer regarding your own ailments?'

'Yes, my friend, our predicament does demand honesty,' Aramis paused and assessed himself, 'my face hurts but I do not have much of a headache now…my arm,' he glanced at his bandaged bicep, 'is not too bad, although I will be avoiding any heavy lifting for a while.'

Aramis paused and gently touched his leg, wincing at the slight touch. 'I am not sure I will be able to walk very far yet, but I should be able to ride.'

'Good,' said Porthos with a nod of thanks for the honesty of his friends reply, 'If I bring your horse to you do you think you can mount up?'

'I will try, but I doubt I will be able to do so without some assistance,' Aramis replied.

He watched as Porthos slowly rose and carefully picked his way over to the patiently waiting mare. He encouraged her forward. As the horse reached Aramis she nuzzled at him. Aramis stroked the creatures muzzle.

Porthos crouched down beside Aramis and gently slipped his arms around his chest.

'We will have to do this slowly, more for my benefit than yours, my friend,' said Porthos with a rather embarrassed smile.

'Trust me, Porthos, I will be happy with slow as well, take your time, if you feel dizzy stop. We don't want to make this worse for ourselves.'

Slowly Porthos pulled Aramis up until he could sit on the fallen tree trunk. Both men were sweating and panting from the exertion. Porthos sat next to Aramis for a few moments as he got his bearings. Aramis could tell the effort had made him dizzy again.

'We should wait until you are in less pain.'

'No. We have no provisions, we cannot stay out here any longer. And I want you in a proper bed with a better dressing on that leg. The risk of infection is too great. I will be fine in a moment.

Aramis sighed, he knew that Porthos was right, but the risk of him passing out from the effort of helping him was a worry.

Porthos put his arm around Aramis' waist and slowly they both stood, Aramis avoiding putting any weight on his bad leg, he did not want to either collapse or jerk with pain and cause Porthos' head any more trauma.

'OK. Here is how we do this, you will hold as much of your weight on your arms holding the saddle and I will give you a lift on your good leg.'

Aramis nodded his agreement. He leaned forward and reached up to grasp the saddle firmly. He raised his good leg off the ground and could not stifle the cry of pain as his bad leg took some of his weight. Porthos was quick to push Aramis up onto the saddle, helping him swing his good leg over the horses back whilst holding him steady so that he did not fall off.

His eyes tightly shut with pain and his breathing ragged it took several minutes for Aramis to calm himself enough to sit up in the saddle. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Porthos had not moved and had himself screwed up his eyes in pain and was trying to calm his own breathing.

'Porthos?'

Porthos gasped and nodded slightly, 'I will be fine,' was the only reply he could managed.

Aramis put a reassuring hand on his friend's arm. He waited patiently for Porthos to regain his composure. A thought occurred to him. It had taken the two of them to get him onto the back of a compliant horse but Porthos' beast was far from behaved. An idea occurred to him but he was not sure how Porthos would take to it.

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'I am not a child or an upstart noble. I cannot do that!' said Porthos, regretting his raised voice instantly as the thump of his headache renewed its vigour.

'Porthos, what choice do we have, no one will know, and we need to get you on that ungrateful creature without you passing out due to your concussion.'

Porthos knew that Aramis was right but still found his idea embarrassing. But as Aramis had pointed out, who would know.

He was sitting on the fallen tree trunk still trying to calm his thumping head, the effort of getting Aramis up on his horse had affected him more than he would like to let on. He felt extremely dizzy and on the verge of passing out. He knew that if he did so Aramis would be forced to dismount on his own and probably do more damage to his injured leg.

He nodded at Aramis and was about to stand when Aramis stopped him.

'I will bring the horse to you, wait there.'

Slowly Aramis walked his mare towards the waiting bay horse. Porthos watched as Aramis gently took the reins and slowly coaxed the creature over stopping by the tree trunk.

'OK.' Aramis held out his hand to Porthos, 'Slowly.'

Porthos stood using Aramis' aid and turned towards the tree trunk. He climbed onto the trunk, pausing slightly as a free wave of dizziness hit him, although it was nothing compared to the last.

Now that he was level with the stirrups it meant he was not going to have to heave himself up rapidly to get into the saddle. Steadying himself he leaned forward onto his mount. Aramis walked his horse to the other side and held the bridle to help steady the bay as best he could.

Porthos put his left foot into the stirrup then swung his leg over the back of the horse. He felt Aramis' arm steading him and was sure he heard a stifled grunt of pain from his friend.

Breathing heavily and clinging to the horse's mane for balance he finally righted himself and sat up. Realising his eyes were closed he opened them, after a few seconds the spinning stopped. He looked over at his friend, who although obviously in pain was ginning at him.

'Well done,' said Aramis with a nod.

'That was humiliating,' said Porthos.

'But necessary, there was no other way. Now comes the harder part. A slow walk to the nearest village. You must tell me if you feel you are going to pass out and we will stop.'

Porthos nodded slowly. He was not looking forward the ride. Not least the constant jogging of his head that the horses' hooves would bring, but the possibility of other complications worried him. If they were attacked they stood no chance in their condition, and despite Aramis' bravado he was not fairing much better than himself.

Aramis led the way initially along the narrow path he had first walked down the day before when Porthos had been unconscious. Slowly Porthos followed, the horse oddly cooperative and calm.

When they reached the forest path Aramis paused to allow Porthos to ride next to him.

Noting a worried look on his friends face Porthos said, 'At the moment I am fine, let's keep going, I will tell you if I start to feel dizzy again, if you promise me to do the same?'

Smiling, Aramis replied, 'Yes my friend, I will,' he paused, 'to pass the time we can solve our other problem.'

Concerned Porthos looked at Aramis.

With a smile Aramis said, 'We have to come up with a believable story as to why we are late back and are injured. I for one do not want to admit to being surprised and injured by a common thief…and I am sure you will not want to admit to mounting your horse in the manner of a rotund, unfit King?'

Porthos laughed, regretting his action immediately. He winced as the thump of his head increased momentarily, but smiled as his friend reached out a steadying hand to his arm.

'I agree,' he said, 'Let us never talk of this again?'

Aramis nodded his accent.

They slowly made their way through the forest. The increasingly outlandish explanations for their predicament keeping them entertained and distracting them from their injuries.

The End


End file.
